Not holding back - gymnast Kovtun officially became a Croatian.

Olympic medalist Illia Kovtun has accepted Croatian citizenship, now he will represent this country at sporting tournaments. The International Gymnastics Federation officially confirmed the gymnast's change of citizenship from Ukrainian to Croatian.

The 21-year-old athlete was born in Cherkasy, but has since moved to Croatia. He refused to return to Ukraine after his success at the Olympic Games. Kovtun will represent Croatia in international competitions, but if the Ukrainian side does not allow it, he will have to undergo a year of quarantine from sports competitions.

Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun has accepted Croatian citizenship and will now represent this country at international competitions. He will have to observe certain restrictions if Ukraine does not allow him to compete as part of the new national team.